


Game of Mists

by Voib



Series: Tumblr Prompts [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel is a Sweetheart, Dean Winchester Has Anxiety, Dean Winchester Has Self-Worth Issues, Drinking to Cope, Drunk Castiel, Family Issues, Human AU, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Parent Castiel, Parent Dean Winchester, Single Parent Castiel, Single Parent Dean Winchester, Support Groups
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 18:24:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15646389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voib/pseuds/Voib
Summary: Urged on by Charlie, Dean goes to a support group for single fathers, only to meet a quirky man named Castiel who is hiding issues of his own.





	Game of Mists

**Author's Note:**

> Fresh fic while I'm still working on my challenges and rewriting _Paragon_. As always, all mistakes are mine. 
> 
> **Warnings** : Cas' father is homophobic.

Dean dragged his hands over his face one last time before it would be considered rude. The few other men that had gathered in the small convention area of the armory had finally started to settle and Dean wanted to make sure he didn’t look like an uninterested asshole.

The plastic of the chair was riding into this butt and making him squirm to keep his legs from falling asleep. He knew he shouldn’t have come early, but he didn’t want to make a fool of himself by being late. Besides, if he came early enough and decided he didn’t like it, he could have escaped just as easily.

Dean clenched and unclenched his fists from where they dangled lamely next to his thighs. The beaded bracelet that Ben had made him made small jingling sounds in the room.

A group of a few men, most in their late 30’s, entered the room with an ease of familiarity. When one of them, an older man with kind eyes, saw him, Dean stood up out of his chair in a respectful manner and gave the man a Boy Scout smile.

The man’s dark skin wrinkled as he raised a brow. “You new here? I’m Rufus and I kinda run the place.”

Dean reached his hand out and grasped Rufus’ rough palm. “Yeah, I’m Dean. My friend Charlie asked me to check it out, so here I am.” Dean let go of Rufus’ hand and gave a little shrug.

“Hm. Make sure you get a name tag from Jerry over there,” Rufus said while giving Dean a critical look. He gestured over to a man who was messing with a strip of wax paper. Jerry seemed to talk quite jovially to the man next to him.

Dean held his breath at the prospect of talking to new people, but he forced his legs to walk towards the man and made his heart to slow down from his rushing anxiety.

Jerry looked towards him just as he arrived. “You must be new! I’m Jerry and this right here is Mike. We’ve been going to these meetings for a couple years now.” Jerry flicked his head towards the dark haired man that stood beside him.

Dean, being a formal and nervous wreck, stuck his hand out for them to shake. “I’m Dean. I, uh, have a 5 year old named Ben. He’s with a friend right now so I could come to the meeting.” God, why did he say that? Was that oversharing? Why did he mention that Ben was with Charlie? That made him seem like he was overcompensating for something or he was a bad father or --

“That’s sweet,” Mike said with a soft smile. “We have a set of twins at home that are just about 8 months now.”

Oh. _Oh._ That was why Rufus glared at him -- Dean probably looked like an idiot newbie who could be a homophobe or something equally bad. Dean didn’t blame Rufus for being careful -- Dean had met his fair share of guys who were great people on the outside but had certain… prejudices that left Dean with a bad taste in his mouth.

“That seems like a handful,” Dean smiled.

“You bet, but we love them all the same,” Jerry said.

Dean hummed. “Uh, I came over here for a nametag thing.”

Jerry pulled a strip of paper off of the waxy plastic and handed it to Dean, “There’s some Sharpies by the food table that you can use. Now go mingle before we burden you with our baby stories.” Jerry shooed Dean away.

Dean made his way to the punch table and suddenly felt like he was at a high school dance. The red punch totally could have been spiked.

Dean wrote his name on the name tag and stuck it to the front of his flannel before he suddenly felt self conscious about his handwriting. Dean ignored the thought and went to get a cup of (non-alcoholic) punch, but someone had already beat him to it. A man in a tan (beige?) trench coat was already scooping punch into a cup.

Without looking up, the man spoke, “Dean? That’s an interesting name. How old are you?”

Dean was taken aback for a second. The man hadn’t even looked at him -- how did he know Dean’s name? “I’m 38.”

“That makes sense for your age group. I like to study human geography in my spare time, and your name happened to interest me. Here’s your punch,” he said before he held out a solo cup filled with the liquid.

“Uh, thanks. What’s your name?” Dean said before taking a sip of the punch and, yep, there was the alcohol.

“I always spike the punch. If you don’t like it, I’ll drink it.”

“No, no. It’s good. What did you add to it?”

“A little vodka, a little rum. My name is Castiel, by the way.”

“So, uh, how long have you been spiking the punch for?”

“I’ve come to this group for a few months now,” he answered.

Dean nodded.

“It should be starting right about now, anyways. Come sit by me,” Castiel smiled.

“Um, sure.”

Cas led him to the edge of the circle and directed him to an empty chair next to Rufus.

Rufus threw Dean a quick look before he looked back into the circle. “Let’s get this show on the road. As we all have noticed, we have a newbie here.” Rufus gestured to Dean, “Dean, why don’t you introduce yourself.”

Dean opened his mouth like a fish swallowing water. He had to _speak_ in front of all of these people? Asshole move, Rufus. “I, uh, have a 5 year old named Ben. I’m a mechanic and work on classic cars. I think that’s it.”

“You sure, boy?” Rufus muttered to him.

Someone on the other side of the group, Mike, raised his hand. Rufus called on him. “What kind of work do you do? Tune ups? Full restorations?”

“I usually do the full nine when my boss lets me. Sometimes it’s just oil changes too,” Dean answered awkwardly.

Someone else raised their hand, “Have you ever worked on an AMX? I hear that they’re neat.”

“Oh yeah. There was a lady that brought in a yellow ‘77 AMX Hornet one day and now she’s my best friend.” Of course, Dean liked Charlie for more than just her car.

“My car has been making a rattle on it’s left side for a week now. Do you know anything about that?” someone else asked.

“That could be a number of things. Does it stop after a while or at a certain speed?”

“Not really.”

“It’s probably the brake pads. You can try to verify them by riding the brakes when you go over some bumpy terrain. That can help, but if it keeps going, raise your car and check for loose suspension,” Dean added.

Dean continued his car Q&A until the meeting had ended and they’d never even talked about being single dads. Dean had progressively become more and more relaxed as the meeting went on. He found himself laughing at side stories or adding his own comments in. Dean seemed to become more in his element and had finally let loose.

Through it all, Castiel listened by his side and added in his own dry humor when the conversation needed it.

Cas kept a steady cup of punch in his hand the effects were starting to show when Dean’s stories got more and more funny and their bodies got closer together. Soon enough, Cas was giggling into Dean’s strong shoulder and Dean didn’t seem to mind.

Dean would let the laugher die off by glancing over into Cas’ cerulean eyes until he was being talked to be another member of the group.

Eventually Rufus announced that the group had officially ended and that he was heading home. A few people stood up and followed him all while giving little waves and promises for further conversation to Dean.

Dean stood up and tried to fold his chair when Cas practically fell into him.

“Isn’t that peculiar?” Cas mumbled into Dean’s shoulder. “I can’t seem to find the floor.”

Dean laughed, “Buddy, you’re drunk. How much punch did you have?”

“I finished the bowl.”

“Alright, let's get you home,” Dean said. Dean left the chair for someone else to clean up and dragged Cas towards the exit of the armory.

Cas’ feet stumbled along but otherwise supported him. “Is my tongue red?”

Dean didn’t try to dignify the question while he tried to open the passenger door of the Impala. He jimmied it open and opened the creaky door.

Cas gigged at the squeaky sound.

Dean set Cas into the passenger seat as gentle as he could for wielding a 170 pound man. He put Cas’ individual feet next to the wheel well and shut the door.

Dean moved to the other side of the Impala and got into the driver seat. When he looked over, Cas’ eyes were focused on the road in front of him and he looked close to sober, even if it was impossible.

“My father hates me,” he said suddenly. “He says that I shouldn’t have a daughter because I might make her gay too.”

Dean nodded and looked out the window. “My dad would say the same,” he responded dryly. Dean put his key into the Impala and started the engine. The purr made Dean feel only marginally better from the sudden depressing mood.

Cas didn’t talk for the rest of the ride except for when he told Dean his address.

Dean pulled into the driveway of an older neighborhood house and killed the ignition. The ticking of the engine filled the silence. Dean waited for Cas to say something -- anything -- but when he looked over, Cas was passed out in his seat.

The lights in the second storey of the house were on and Dean could see some vague movement behind the curtains. Knowing that he couldn’t carry Cas to the house himself, he opened his door in the Impala and walked down the short path to the front door. He stood under the porch light awkwardly until he decided to knock.

The door was opened by a teen wearing black eyeliner and some leather pants. “What do you want?” she asked with a sneer.

“Uh. Cas is passed out in the car and he’s pretty fucked up,” Dean winced.

“What, did you roofie him?”

“No, he just had a little too much special punch.”

“Oh. I’ll help you,” she said before she shut the door behind her and followed Dean to the Impala. She ran her hand over the hood, “Nice car. My dad’s is a piece of shit.”

“Is he your dad?” Dean gestured to Cas in the front seat.

“Yeah.”

“Nice to meet you, I guess. I’m Dean,” Dean said while he opened the passenger door of the Impala. Cas’ limp hand fell out.

“I’m Claire,” she responded before she cringed at the way her father’s neck was angled in the seat. “Can you get him out of the car?”

“Probably,” Dean said before he opened the car door wider and scooped his hand awkwardly around Cas’ shoulder. Dean tried to lift him, but his dead weight shifted and caused Dean to balance him on his shoulder. “Jesus christ. Hurry up and open the door,” Dean ushered to Claire.

She ran ahead and opened the door wide enough so Dean could pass through.

Dean was greeted with a weird painting of a naked man. Dean’s eyes lingered before Claire guided him to the couch where Dean threw Cas down. Dean panted for a second, “God, your dad is really gay.”

“No shit, Hasselhoff.”

“Did he get that painting at a damn garage sale?”

“Probably,” Claire responded.

Dean stared at Cas’ limp figure on the couch. His trench coat was starting to get wrinkled from his awkward position. “You know what would be even more gay?”

“You staring at my dad for any longer?” Claire snarked.

“If I undressed your dad,” Dean said before he moved to pull Cas upright on the couch. Dean let go of him to see if he would balance upright. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell your dad about this in the morning.”

Dean pulled his coat off of one arm and Claire helped with the other. They got him down to his dress shirt and slacks, and Dean didn’t want to go any further.

“I’ll get some Aspirin, but when I come back, I better not find you doing any funny business,” Claire said skeptically with a fake glare. She did a little ‘I’m watching you’ gesture and left the living room.

Dean rolled his eyes and gave a little laugh.

Claire came back and set the Aspirin on the coffee table with a bottle of water. She pulled some pillows off the back of the couch and put them at the end. “Can you lay him on the pillow?”

Dean moved Cas’ shoulders until his body was parallel with the floor and his head landed on the pillow. “Make sure he gets a shit ton of bacon in the morning.”

“No problem. And thanks for bringing my dad home or I would’ve just worried about him all night,” Claire said sincerely.

“Seemed like the right thing to do, even if I just met him tonight,” Dean responded with a little shrug.

“He probably would have passed out in a ditch or something. He doesn’t get drunk very often, if ever, but his dad is really being an ass since he’s been in town.”

“Yeah. When we were on the ride over here, he said something about what his dad says. Something about you being gay?”

“Oh yeah. Good thing my girlfriend is there to guide me away from all of the sinners,” Claire joked.

Dean laughed. “I better get going.”

“See ya,” Claire said before she led him out of the house, leaving the goodbye short and sweet.

Dean drove out just when the porch light went off into the empty neighborhood and back towards his apartment. The street lights bounced off of the dew on the Impala’s window.

He parked his Impala in the garage and made his way up several flights of stairs to the level his apartment was on. The hall was empty, but the sound of someone's stereo thumping through the wall made it seem less uninviting.

Dean shoved his key in the door lock and entered his apartment. He took off his canvas jacket, hung it on the coat rack and entered the empty hall. The entrance still had some toy cars scattered around and Dean was careful to step around them. He’d told Ben to clean them up before he went with Charlie over to her house, but of course the boy didn’t listen.

The apartment was lonesome without Ben.

Dean grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down on the couch. He cracked it open and then turned on the TV. During the late night bout of _Perry Mason_ , Dean felt his phone buzz. He opened it up to find that Charlie had sent him a picture of Ben sleeping in a monstrous pile of blankets. Dean gave the photo a soft smile before he realized he had another notification.

Dean set his beer down as he fiddled with his phone’s messaging app until he saw what an unknown number had texted him.

_this eis cas. just laetting you know that ykou have a xcute ass._

At some point during the night, Cas must have snatched his phone and texted him. Dean grinned at the screen and decided to reply.

_This is Dean. Just lettin u know that you have an asshole daughter. Not really -- she’s funny tho._

Dean sent the message before he decided to compose another one.

_I hope you aren’t too hungover in the morning, but eat a greasy breakfast. Bacon always works._

_Take care of yourself._

Dean sent his last message and clicked his phone off. He stood up and made his way to his bedroom where he dressed down to his boxers and face planted in his bed, the exhaustion just now beginning to hit him.

The last message he sent seemed a little too personal, but he’d already sent it.

Dean forced himself to dismiss his anxious thoughts and go to sleep.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

Cas woke up with vomit threatening to spill from his mouth. He rushed down the hall and to the toilet before he retched away the bile in stomach. Wiping his mouth with his serve, he stood up and rinsed his mouth with water from the tap. He found Claire standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

“So, you got drunk with a hot guy because you have daddy problems?” She raised an a brow. “Therapy was created for a reason, you know.”

“Pain meds?” Cas said distractedly. He was still drunk but his head was starting to hurt.

“On the coffee table,” she confirmed.

Cas made his way down the hall and back into the living room before he downed a pill and most of the water bottle. He collapsed onto the couch and let his head rest on the back rest. “Thank you, Claire. I’m sorry I was irresponsible.”

“Well, that must mean that you owe me,” she smiled before she sat down next to Cas.

Cas put his arm over his shoulder, enjoying the comfort. “Anything you want, Claire-bear.”

“I want you to meet my girlfriend.”

Cas opened his eyes and furrowed his brow, “You have a girlfriend? Why didn’t you tell me?” Cas gently rubbed her shoulder in comfort.

“It’s new, but I really like her.”

“On one hand, it’s weird that you’re growing up, but on the other, I’m happy you have a girlfriend and not a boyfriend,” Cas said.

“Why?”

“I think that many men are raised in a certain way that makes them assholes. Of course, it’s not their fault, but they never learn to correct their behavior and they wind up as toxic, abusive idiots.”

“Like hype beasts?”

“I have no idea what that is, but sure,” Cas said confused. “Of course, I like being around men, but only certain kinds.”

“The hot kind?”

“You bet.”

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

Dean woke up without an alarm, just the stream of light in from the window. He reached over and grabbed his phone from the nightstand before he kicked the sheets off his body. He had a new message from Charlie.

_Ben will b back at 3:00!!! We’re getting ice cream in the park + taking a walk_

Dean huffed a laugh and then texted her back.

_Met a hot guy last night, had to bring him home and I met his teen daughter. I’ll tell u the gossip later. Meet you at ur house?_

He sent the message and went to find some clothes from his wardrobe.

 _Sure thing_ , Charlie replied.

He pulled on some soft ripped jeans and a henley before he was out the door. He grabbed the Impala’s keys, his wallet and a bagel before he was out the door and making his way to Charlie’s house.

The mindless driving somehow distracted him from thinking about last night.

Dean pulled onto the curb in front of Charlie’s house and listened to the engine tick. He pulled the keys from the ignition and made his way up to Charlie’s manicured lawn (which she forced Dean to cut and manage. Well, with the bribery of pie, of course).

Dean didn’t knock on the door but instead went inside. There was some weird alternative music playing in the living room too loud for them to heard Dean enter.

Dean found Charlie and Ben dressed to the nines in feather boas and ugly, used clothes while dancing along to the awful music.

He entered the living room and turned the music down on the stereo. “You trying to poison his brain?” Dean asked jokingly while gesturing towards Ben.

“Oh, come on! It was written by a gay icon,” Charlie replied with a little whine.

Ben finally noticed that Dean had entered the room and his eyes lit up. “Daddy! We got some toys and some candy!” he said enthusiastically. Ben gave Dean’s legs a hug before he looked up to his face. “You’re coming to the park, right?”

“Of course, honey,” Dean responded.

“Well, I’m gonna get changed and then we can head to the park,” Charlie confirmed. She bounded up the house’s stairs with a quick turn of her red hair.

Dean picked Ben up and threw him into the air a little before catching him. “Do you want to get changed or are you going dressed like that?”

Ben looked down at his outfit, “I don’t wanna change,” he whined. A stray feather from his boa was blown out of his face with a quick gust of breath.

“Good thing you’re not an adult,” Dean grumbled. “Do you wanna ride in Charlie’s tiny car or Daddy’s Impala?”

“Impala!” Ben screamed.

Charlie appeared at the bottom of the stairs at Ben’s screaming, now dressed in some comfortable jeans and a plain tee shirt. “You trying to diss my car?”

“Yeah!” Ben replied before Dean could.

Dean gave a little chuckle and a nod, “You bet, sweetheart. Your car is a classic, but it’s still not my Baby.”

“Well, at least I don’t have a crush on a single dad,” Charlie smirked. She grabbed the Impala’s keys from where Dean had set them on the counter and threw them back to Dean. She didn’t wait for a response before she was out the door and headed to the Impala.

“Dad, what’s ‘single’?” Ben asked innocently.

Dean followed after Charlie. “It means you don’t have a relationship. I don’t know, Aunt Charlie would probably explain it better.” Dean buckled Ben into his car seat in the back seat of the Impala before he made his way to the driver’s seat. Charlie was already waiting in the passenger seat.

“So, tell me the dirty details,” Charlie said with a devious smile.

Dean glanced in the rearview mirror, making sure that Ben was sleeping first. The 5 year old couldn’t seem to keep his eyes awake when they took car rides, and this was no exception. His childish face was smashed against the headrest of his car seat.

Dean pulled the car out of the neighborhood and onto the open road. “Well, I went to that parent thing.”

“I’m so proud of you, Dean! I thought you would stay home with a six pack and be all mopey,” Charlie said excitedly.

“So I go there and there’s a bunch of pretty cool people, some couples who aren’t straight --”

“Hell yeah!” Charlie interjects.

“-- There’s this guy there and he asks me about my name. I was already freaking out, anxiety, ya know, and I could barely focus on what he’s telling me about human geography because he was hot as _hell_. Anyways, he starts spiking the punch and then he gave me a cup. I was basically choking on it because it was like 1% punch by that point.”

“Wow, someone giving Dean Winchester a run for his money in liquor consumption? Marry this man.”

“There was a big circle of chairs, I don’t remember much, but we got really drunk and he totally hung all over me and I felt like a damn queen.” Dean gave chuckle. Cas giggled so much and made Dean’s heart grow three sizes like the Grinch. “He got really drunk and so I took him home.” Dean decided not to mention what Cas said about his father to Charlie; it was definitely a sore spot.

“Well, what about his teen daughter?” Charlie urged.

“I’m getting there. I knocked on his house door while he was passed out in the Impala and this blonde girl with a bunch of eyeliner and black clothes opens the door. I was confused for a moment but she helped me get him into the house and onto the couch. That was basically the end of it,” Dean shrugs.

“I feel like you’re not telling me everything,” Charlie says suspiciously.

“Well, right when the door to his house opens there’s a picture of a naked man.”

“Are you sure he’s not a porn producer?” Charlie asks when they stop at a light.

“Nah. He dresses like an accountant with the suit, tie -- the full nine. The photo was artistic anyways.” _And kind of hot in a weird way_ , Dean thought.

“Then maybe it’s really kinky porn?”

“Shut up, Charlie, you’re gonna give me bad ideas,” Dean quips. Dean pulls into an empty parking space in front of the community playground before he puts the Impala in park. “Did you want to get Ben out?”

Once they had parked, Ben started to wake up and wipe at his eyes. His sleepy brown eyes blinked awake once Charlie started to help him out of his car seat.

Dean went around the Impala and locked all of the doors before they all made their way to the little ice cream stand that was always set up in the park. They all ordered before they went back to the playground section of the park. Ben ate some of his ice cream before he decided to play on the money bars.

Dean smiled into the autumn breeze that whipped past his face.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

_**Earlier.** _

Cas must have fallen asleep on the couch again after his conversation with Claire, but he really needed to take a piss. He made his way to the bathroom, still slightly drunk, and relieved himself. He still felt like he was going to vomit so he laid on the bathroom floor, hoping that the room would stop spinning. He closed his eyes and didn’t open them when he heard someone push the bathroom door open.

“Hangovers are a bitch, huh?” Claire asked sarcastically.

Cas hummed in agreement. “What happened last night?”

“I’ll tell you after you’ve had your bacon, dad.” Claire left the bathroom, assumingly back to the kitchen, with a quick flick of her hair.

Cas groaned into the bathroom carpet but complied. He slowly lifted himself off of the ground, his knees popping and back aching, and then dragged his feet down the hall like a petulant child. Claire had the food set up on the table so he sat down and admired the simplicity of having a meal with his daughter.

Claire brought some bacon to the table in a frying pan, placing it onto a plate next to the pancakes and eggs. She put the pan back into the kitchen, taking the seat opposite from Castiel. She began placing food into her plate, covering her pancakes in syrup. “So -- who was the hot guy last night?”

Cas’ face fell. “Wait, don’t tell me I --”

“Relax, _relax_. He just dumped your drunk ass on the couch and then stared at the picture in the front hall.”

Cas snorted, “Like that’s much better.” He took a sip of orange juice before he ask “Did he like the picture?”

“I dunno. He seemed kinda indifferent but he definitely stared,” Claire said with a little shrug and a suggestive wink.

“Hmm. Have you seen my phone around?” Cas knew that he had it on him last night but he could have lost it at any point along the way.

“Did you try your coat pockets?” Claire suggested.

Cas got up from his chair and made his way to the living room searching for a flash of tan. His coat was slung over the back of the coach and he quickly rustled through the pockets for his phone. He pulled his phone out and brought it back to the kitchen. He took his seat and started to fiddle with his phone, surprised that it was still relatively charged.

Once he unlocked it, he was met with his messaging app. His most recent message was sent to someone who he drunkenly labeled ‘Realley hout ass’. He clicked on the conversation and was not surprised by what he saw.

_‘this eis cas. just laetting you know that ykou have a xcute ass’._

Cas rolled his eyes at himself. Typical. “Of course I texted that.”

Claire held her hand out with an expectant look and Cas handed her the phone. She looked over the text and then scrolled down, her brows raising the more she read. “Damn. Did you read the other texts?”

“Please don’t tell me I sent more,” Cas groaned.

“You didn’t, but he did.” Claire handed the phone back.

Cas read over the text message.

_‘This is Dean. Just lettin u know that you have an asshole daughter. Not really -- she’s funny tho’._

The text was reasonable -- normal even for meeting someone new. It didn’t suggest more than it said but it wasn’t shallow either. But the next one…

_‘I hope you aren’t too hungover in the morning, but eat a greasy breakfast. Bacon always works’._

_‘Take care of yourself’._

Dean _did_ care. Did that mean that he was willing to talk to Cas again?

Cas swiped a hand over his face. “Do I text him back?”

“Duh. I wouldn’t mind having another dad especially if he’s cool, unlike you,” Claire laughed.

“Keep saying that until I tell your girlfriend about the time you spilled food all over yourself at school.”

Claire’s demeanor changed. “You _wouldn’t_ ,” she glared.

“Help me come up with a reply and I swear I won’t.”

“Send a picture of the bacon. It’s confirming that you aren’t ignoring him and it’s a simple starter that would open the conversation.”

“What kind of picture? Like a selfie?” Cas said with a hint of horror on his face.

“You aren’t the type. Just let me take a picture of you.” Claire snagged the phone out of his hand and opened the camera app, quickly taking a picture before he could protest. She quick sent it off to ‘Realley hout ass’ and watched it be delivered. “Done. Now we just wait for his reply.”

Cas groaned, “I probably look like a idiot. Damnit, Claire.” Cas took the phone back but didn’t look at the screen. He quickly locked the phone and then shoved it off to the side of the table. He stabbed his pancake and shoved a large portion in his mouth. Maybe it was childish but Claire didn’t have to send a bad picture to the man Cas was trying to get to know. From the little that he remembers from last night, Dean was an extremely charming man who lit up at the mention of things he was passionate about. Dean seemed like an amazing father and his son was lucky to have him.

Cas eventually got over his pouting once he finished breakfast. “Thank you, Claire, the bacon really helped.”

“No problem, dad. Just make sure that Dean is next to get the treatment; he did bring you home before you passed out in a ditch.” Claire made her way up the stairs like the teenager she was.

Cas smiled to himself and continued to scrub down the plates and pans before he head his phone buzz. He almost dropped the plate he was washing before he set it back in the sink and moved quickly over to his phone like it would disappear. “Claire!” he yelled up towards the top of the stairs. He could hear her groan before her feet came pounding down the stairs.

She rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”

“He texted back!” Cas declared. Cas could still see the notification on his lock screen with Dean’s nickname on it.

“Well?” Claire said expectantly, with a hand on her hip, “Are you going to open it?”

“Oh, yeah.” Cas unlocked his phone and pulled up the messaging app and the Dean’s conversation.

_‘Good to see u’ve joined the land of the living. Me, Ben and my friend Charlie r at the park right now. It would be nice if you could stop by? U don’t have 2 if ur working or smthn…’_

Cas quickly read the message aloud with more excitement with every word he read. Cas was quick to respond with a simple ‘See you there’.

“What are you going to wear? You’re still dressed like you’ve been on a serious bender,” Claire said while gesturing to his askew shirt and wrinkled slacks.

Cas smelled himself and winced, “I need a shower.”

“I’ll get you some clothes while you shower. My plans with my girlfriend fell through anyways so I guess I’m going with you,” Claire said while ushering him towards the down stairs shower. Claire let Castiel shower while she busied herself with finding him an outfit that was appropriate for a family meet up. She pulled out a pair of dark blue pants that were comfortable and a denim button up that Dean would be drooling over. She grabbed a pair of tighty whities and threw them in the pile while muttering ‘gross’.

Claire threw on a pair of dark jeans and a simple Nazareth band shirt before she finished her makeup and spraying some perfume.

Castiel had finished in the time that it took her to get ready and he was grabbing his wallet before both he and Claire wordlessly left the house.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

Dean didn’t know what came over him for him to send that text. He only knew Cas drunk, so he could totally be a weirdo and now Dean was inviting that near his _kid_? Maybe that was his anxiety talking and Dean really needed to calm down.

Charlie didn’t know that he was inviting more members to the park party, but Dean figured that she wouldn’t mind.

Ben played some more on the slides before he came back and stole some of Dean’s rocky road, giggling as he ran away again to the monkey bars.

Dean was watching Ben attempt a cartwheel when the sound of an older engine rumbling up distracted him. Dean turned in his seat on the bench and saw a golden car pull into a parking spot and the driver turn off the car. The old Continental’s window had a glare from the sun, so Dean couldn’t see the driver, but Dean decided to continue watching.

Dean was surprised when he saw Claire get out of the car wearing a pair of sunglasses and then Cas get out of the driver’s side before locking the car.

Dean face lit up. He got up from the bench and waited for Cas and Claire to approach and finally notice him.

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Cas pulled into the city park and locked his Lincoln. His eyes started to scan for Dean among the crowd of people and eventually landed on him. His smile rivaled the luster of the sun and Cas returned the sentiment. “Hello, Dean.”

“Hey, Cas. Ben is on the monkey bars with Charlie right now, if you’d like to meet them,” Dean beamed.

“Of course, I see that you’ve met Claire already,” Cas said.

Claire smirked a little at Dean. “Hey, Hasselhoff.”

“Nice shirt, by the way,” Dean said while gesturing to Claire’s Nazareth shirt. Dean turned back to the monkey bars, “C’mon.”

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After everyone had met and exchanged greetings and formalities, they started hitting it off. Charlie and Claire had similar nerdy interests and Claire was good with children so Ben instantly liked her.

Dean and Cas were intentionally sidelined by the rest of the group and so they decided to take a walk along the park’s biking route. The small path lead to a small duck pond through a forested area. Even if the area was populated, not man people walked the trail, so it was private.

At first it was an awkward silence before Cas finally broke it with some small talk. The trees swayed in the autumn wind and whispered in their ears, making the whole endeavor feel more private than it already was.

They giggled as they walked and told each other little bits about each other. Eventually they made it to the pond and sat down on the rickety bench that was placed facing the pond. The wind seemed to die down once they sat. The sun was still high in the sky but the large trees of the forest blocked most of the harsh light out.

Dean stared out at the serene pond while Cas shifted in his seat but eventually settled down. He seemed nervous but Dean chose to ignore it in favor of his own anxiety. _Was he going to kiss me or not_? Dean thought.

Eventually the right moment came along and Cas turned towards Dean the same time that Dean turned towards him. Cas licked his lips and pressed in close to Dean, allowing his lips to caress Dean’s.

Dean deepened the kiss and let his hand wander to the back of Cas’s neck. The played with the short, soft hair as the kiss ended. Dean pulled back and looked into Cas’ eyes, “You’re good at that.”

“Well, I haven’t had much practice,” Cas said sheepishly. “I was only 21 when Claire was born, so I haven’t been able to experience much, per say, but I wouldn’t give Claire up for the world.”

“I know what you mean. Ben was an accident and I can’t help but love him,” Dean replied sincerely.

“Let’s get out of here, they’re probably all waiting in us,” Cas said. He got up from the bench and extended his hand out to Dean.

Dean took Cas’ smooth hand and was pulled off of the bench. Dean quickly pulled Cas in for another kiss before they made their way back to towards the playground, dragging their feet in resentment of leaving the moment they had procured.

After a while of walking, the forest opened up to the sound of children playing. Cas could clearly see Claire showing Ben something on her phone and Charlie laughing along with the both of them. The sight was endearing and gave Cas a feeling of hope in his chest that Dean would be something for Cas that wasn’t short term or jaded. It sure _felt_ like it could be something more.

Dean bumped his hand into Cas’ and looked up shyly, implying that he wanted to hold Cas’ hand.

“You could have just asked, you know. I’d hold your hand any day,” Cas said with a chuckle.

Dean shrugged, “I have anxiety, so the entirety of today was kinda scary, but I’m really happy about it. You made it a lot easier.”

“You make things easier, too,” Cas replied.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me, please leave a comment. I am also taking suggestions for this 'verse, which means that you can comment little prompts for me to write.


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